In 2008 when Astrid Brennan bought number 24 The Sweepstakes, a two-bed own door first floor apartment, she was young, free and single.
Before she moved in she reconfigured the internal layout. With the help of her dad, architect Niall D Brennan, they set about updating the tired décor of the 1992 Cosgrave-built apartment.
An en suite was added to the master bedroom by taking the underutilised space in the large hot press, upgrading it to a shower room and creating access to the bedroom. By removing the water tank from this location and installing a newer more compact model under the stairs the property suddenly had two bathrooms.
In the main bathroom Brennan replaced the bath with a swish shower and added built-in storage here. This allowed her to rent out one of the rooms to a friend and have the luxury of separate washrooms.
The kitchen, located to the rear of an open plan living/dining room, was originally accessed via a dated arched opening. This was opened up to bring more light into the u-shaped cooking area. The original floor tiles were swapped for wood flooring and duck egg blue units were installed.
Then Astrid fell in love, got married and produced twins. The property’s second double bedroom became a nursery and the couple soon turned to the additional space available in their five square metre garage to the rear of the building. As well as being plumbed for a washing machine and drier it was ideal as a drying area, and for storing all the bulky accessories two babies inevitably bring.
The garage is a massive plus to apartment living, Astrid says. “As well as being plumbed and wired it houses a desk if one of us needs somewhere quiet to go and work. It also means that the living space wasn’t cluttered with drying laundry and we didn’t have to go and rent when the twins came along.”
The family is now looking for a larger property, and the 56sq m apartment, which comes with one parking space and a south-facing terrace of about 12m, is asking €495,000 through agents Owen Reilly.
An annual management fee of €1,066 applies.
